July 15, 2008

9 File Managers for Linux

Konqueror - Default file manager in KDE3, Konqueror was replaced by Dolphin in KDE4. Very powerful, Konqueror supports profiles, split windows, several view modes, plugins and much more features.Official website

Krusader - Another powerful file manager for KDE, Krusader has an interface similar to Midnight Commander, starting by default with two panels (the so-called 'twin panel' mode).Official website

Dolphin - The new file manager in KDE4, Dolphin aims to be easy to use and provides basic features for file management. Although the official homepage claims that Dolphin focuses on usability, I found it harder to use than Konqueror or Xfe, for example. But since I don't use it much, I guess that's just because I'm not used to it yet.Official website

Nautilus - Default file manager in GNOME, praised by some and criticised by others, Nautilus has a simplistic interface, being powerful enough in the same time. Although currently it doesn't support tabs, Nautilus includes lots of other useful features and it can be extended through scripts.Official website

Xfe - A nice little file manager rich enough in features, with an intuitive interface, the X File Explorer is built with the FOX graphical interface toolkit. Full review here.Official website

Thunar - Default file manager in Xfce, in my opinion Thunar is just like Nautilus in every way.Official website

ROX-Filer - Although ROX-Filer has a minimal interface, it provides many features and configuration options.Official website

PCManFM - Built in Gtk, PCManFM is clean and features tabs, which makes some users prefer it over Nautilus. Full review here.Official website

Midnight Commander - File manager using TUI (Text User Interface) which means it doesn't need X to run. I honestly never saw the point in using a file manager when in command line, but some prefer it over plain commands.Official website

43 comments:

I was wondering as I red if you're gonna include Midnight Commander and I'm glad you did.

Perhaps its popularity is explained by its versatility. For one thing, it can be used both at the command line (which means over SSH too) and on a graphical desktop. You can learn to use one file manager and you can use it all the time everywhere, I think that's an advantage.

Why use it in the command line? Because it has all kinds of features that can help you work faster. It doubles as a SFTP and FTP client, it has unified histories for directories, directory shortcuts, the panels are adjustable to multiple views at the touch of a key, it has name quicksearch for dirs with many files, a file finder that can also search for content (with regexps if you want), you can tag and copy/move/delete files quickly and I for one absolutely love its move and rename dialogue, which can use a very powerful combination of regexp and shell wildcards. Not to mention it also comes with a "smart" file viewer (it renders HTML files, for instance, not shows you the source) and with a syntax highlighting file editor.

It's not that poorly suited for the graphical desktop either. Sure, its main strength is being able to control it completely by keyboard, but it can be used with a mouse, it has themable color schemes, it puts the current dir in the window title, it adapts to whatever window size and fonts you wish to use, and it has file associations, which means you can click on a file and it will be opened with the appropriate application just as a graphical file manager would do.

I really advise giving dolphin another shot, its truly a great file manager. Agreed its very different to konq, but when u move away from konq style of file management ( which is great once u get used to it, but isnt really focused on file management ), dolphin is awesome to use.

I've never been partial to Konquerer, but I'm warming up to Dolphin. It like how you can easily do many of the things that are difficult or impossible with the other file managers (SCP, twin-panel view, integrated actions).

BTW, Midnight Commander works perfect for my remote logins to my server. I could just use the cp and mv commands, but when you're transferring a few GB's, you would like to have a progress report.

The greatest thing about Linux and Open Source is CHOICE! Compared to Windows where you have to hunt and search for a suitable replacement to the abomination known as Explorer, most dekstop distros come with at least two FM's installed and a bunch more readily and freely available. Though honestly, for my personal choice Konqueror is just about the end all and be all of graphical FM's. I've yet to experience anything that can't be done with it locally or remotely, natively or with extensions. Of all these, Konqueror is by far the most versatile, confurable and powerful of hte bunch IMNSHO.

@gdltek1, your statement would be easily disputed by anybody that used windows app called Total Commander.There is no file manager that is faster or more capable than it. Miles ahead of anything else(even Directory Opus which tries to do too much of everything).

At the times of MsDos i used to love XTree as a File Manager. No wonder I am now using both Krusader and MC. The look&feel are quite similar.MC is a must have for any beginner with Linux who tries his first hacks or goes into X configuration files: everybody made his X environment unusable or instable at least once!

The only real FM under Linux is Krusader. Gnome-commander will get there in a few years. MC should have been there by now, but it's not. Most of the people think that copying and moving, occasional delete and seldom folder making is file managing. Well, it's not.

I don't see the end-all, be-all thing as a positive. That's why I like Rox. It's the first thing I get onto a new installation. It gives me a lot of options for simply dealing with my files. OK, so it can't mess with compressed files on a remote desktop, but really, how often does your average user need that kind of functionality. I'm glad it's there for admins and people doing unusual things, but for 99 percent of file management you don't need a fire truck. You need a mini. Rox is a mini: small, fast, good looking, easy to drive.

Once the center of the KDE desktop, The mightiest of file managers apparently no longer rates a release announcement on its own KDE-hosted webpage!

Like KDE4, I am open to arguments that Dolphin (or "Flipper", as I like to call it) is somehow better than Konqueror, but when people say it's "simpler", I just want to shake my head and change the subject.

The great thing about Konqueror as a file manager is that because it's a web browser and a file manager, I can create a homepage for Konqueror that can perform file management tasks with html links.

As far as I'm concerned, KDE without Konqueror is like the Doors without Jim Morrison. Right now, the filter bar has been removed from Konqueror, which weakens it as a file manager, and that alone is enough for me to keep using KDE 3 for the next 20 years. On the other hand, I recently saw something in a forum about how Konqueror in KDE4 is being built to facilitate the writing of extensions-- and that alone may turn me into a born-again KDE4 fanboy.

a few sentence feature blurb, as that seems to be the format of comments on this post:

Blazingly fast and efficient (it runs off of ls -** switches that are customizable) runs from the terminal, ssh or X11 with thumbnail image previews obviously with the mouse being optional (as any decent file manager should not require the mouse). What sets it apart from the rest: it is very easy to customize and automate because it is written in Emacs Lisp, an extensible programming language, rather than a solid compiled chunk of 01010110...

I concede that if you are stuck using a POS (Proprietary OS) like Windows, then indeed Total Commander is an excellent and free option that is available. I have used it quie a bit myself when I find myself stranded in the winworld.

However, as nice and feature rich as TC is, it still IMO does not hold a candle to Konqueror on Linux. The things one can do with Konq simply boggle the imagination. The integration with the KDE desktop is flawless, it's configurability is the stuff of legend. I guess it's really one of those "You have to see it to believe it" kind of things. However if you are limited to Windows, I guess that's just not going to happen.

None of these fine applications addresses the needs of multi-terabyte file collections, as is increasingly seen in academic research.

We call them "file managers" but they are really "directory browsers." A real file manager would actually manage the underlying sub-directory structure, balancing trees or moving files according to specified naming standards.

Then, it would index these files, making them accessible via a simply Google-like search field. Typing a query would display a selection of files in the archive, not just one directory. This display would "scope" as the query becomes more specific.

A highlighted and selected file would then be viewed in a browse panel capable of displaying every known text, word processing, PDF and PPT-like format. (Such toolkits were common in the ancient world of DOS, so they must still be achievable.)

no one uses PCMan its the default with lxde and i was pleasently surprized by how light it was and it has all the features of a modern file manager.Midnight Commander is ugly and uselesspeople say learn it but how i thought it was an ftp client but couldnt transfer a thing. Yes im not a complete moron. You may disagree on that one though

Personally, I like to use both Nautilus and emelfm2. I use emelfm2 for certain jobs -- I like that it's double-paned and there's an easy way to copy/paste and buttons to mirror the other pane. Nautilus comes in handy when it comes to cds/dvds -- I find that it automatically detects and mounts devices much better than any other file manager I've used. I don't like Konqueror or Dolphin much as I've used them in Kubuntu and found them to be unreliable/unstable. I rarely ever have nautilus or emelfm2 crash.

As if to further prove the ultra-flexibility of Linux, Echoes takes a brief look at 9 file managers for Linux, both well-known and obscure. Accompanied by comments on strengths, screenshots and homepage links, the article provides a quick guide for Linux users looking for a better file management interface.